Category Archives: Landline Services

ROBOCOP Act: The Act to Stop Unwanted Calls Rises Again in Senate

robocop act

The act that would coerce service providers to enable customers to block unwanted automated and prerecorded robocalls was introduced two months ago by Jackie Speier, Congresswoman. Under the act, consumers would have the choice of whether or not they want to use a call blocker. The bill is currently lying indolently in committee. The reason cited by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, mentions that permission needs to be given from FCC and without its approval, robocall blockers cannot be deployed, which authorities have claimed to be wrong.

Chuck Schumer, New York Senator, announced at his weekly press event on Sunday that he would be reintroducing the ROBOCOP Act, which would instruct the FCC to necessitate that telephone service providers give their customers access to robocall-blocking technology without any charge.

“Despite the existing ‘Do Not Call’ registry, the robocall problem has returned in a serious way,” said Schumer. “It’s an epidemic that we’ve got to stop — whether it’s the landline or the mobile phone. It’s taking far too long for telecom companies to act.”

Chuck Bell from Consumers Union was also present to stand beside Schumer in demanding federal lawmakers do something about robocalls.

He said “Most Americans have signed up for the Do Not Call list, but the unwanted calls from telemarketers and scam artists have just gotten worse.”

The present mounting issue with robocalls is that the majority of them come from ID thieves and scammers, who care about very little about any laws against the practice. Most of these use spoofed numbers, which is legal if done without intention to defraud, such as protecting news sources. But it also makes it much more difficult for investigators to track culprits.

In spite of the availability of certain methods to reduce these calls, the number that has been deployed so far by telecom service providers on any large scale is very small.

Certain campaigns to end robocalls have been ongoing to compel companies to stop making excuses and block the infuriating robocalls.

Is a Clear Connection A Lost Commodity?

clear connection

We often hear people complaining about how they find that the landlines at their homes are simply unjustified expenses. Most households feel they are not using the landlines at their homes adequately enough and that’s primarily because they all use cellphones more than ever. Yet, there are those who still have complete faith in the power of this old school but reliable device.

There are a number of data companies across USA that are consistently working to promote the use of landlines owing to the benefits of the hard wired communications option. The company is sharing mail pamphlets bearing the title “Miss having a clear connection?” The truth as we all know it is that at one point or the other, we all have faced the troubles that come with unclear conversations, poor signals, and a dying battery while using cellphones. But home phones don’t do that to you, no matter how long you use them. And that’s because they do not boast of a wireless network. That’s also why we love the wired device. It has a clarity that is unparalleled and connectivity that is dependable!

Land line telephones form a critical resource for businesses. Lately, the use of telephone for business communication may have dipped a bit owing to greater use of computers and the internet. Yet, landline telephones are still rated better than cellphones as far as communication and satisfaction is concerned. A major reason for this is that business set ups largely depend upon landline connections so as to establish user identification, have clearer communication that does not get interrupted by low signals, and have a lasting reliability on a device that does not need charging.

Nowadays, landlines have even more sophisticated features such as the teleconferencing ability that has helped many businesses overcome the challenges of long distance business communication or conferences. It brings people together from all over the organization at a fraction of the cost of travel and meeting facilities. When used along with video conferencing, conference calls bring an essence of face-to-face meeting to the meeting as live presentations are watched, questions are circulated and answers are discussed among a large group of people attending the call.

 

 

3 Reasons Businesses Should Have Landlines

landlines

There might have been a drop in the frequency of use of landline phones for business communication because of the advent of computers as well as the internet. However, landline telephones still rank higher when rated on clarity of communication from a business related viewpoint. No matter how fast and effective the technology, cellphones still cannot match the communication satisfaction granted by old fashioned telephones. A major reason for this is that business set ups essentially depend upon landline usage in order to establish user identification, provide for a clearer communication and ensure a long lasting use on the device that does not need battery charging.

Telephone communication may be slower, and not as speedy and quick as its new-age media counterparts, such as email, instant messaging, and social media. Nevertheless, the benefits drawn from using landlines easily exceeds the few limitations it has. In the impersonal world we live in, the landline telephone that connects a caller with a human through voice, is still a very important business resource. Here are some reasons why it is so:

Effective and Clear Communication

Conversing with someone via the telephone is nearly as good as talking with someone face-to-face. For situations where a face-to-face meeting is not feasible, a phone call is the best way to get an immediate, personal response. As with other forms of communication, such as texting or email, you leave a message and hope for a quick response. In many cases, responses do get delayed for some reason and can become a source of stress if the business requirement demands a quicker revert or action.

Better Message Transmission

The three most vital elements of effective communications include body language that accounts for 55%, tone of voice that accounts for 38% and spoken words that represent 7%. The tone of voice has such importance because it provides dimension and emotion to words. Over the telephone, it further increases the effectiveness of the communication as body language cannot be assessed in that case. Yet, certain aspects of body language, such as smiling and walking while talking, tend to come across in a telephonic conversation.

Economical for Multiple Participants in Call

The teleconferencing feature that is offered by landline telephones nowadays is a provision that has surpassed the barriers of the traditional two-way communication on a telephone. It brings people together from all over the organization and from different geographical locations at a very minimal cost. Such features have immensely helped save time and resources of organizations. Conference calls, when used along with video conferencing bring the essence of a personal meeting to the communication as presentations are viewed, questions are asked via the Internet and answers are discussed among a number of people attending the call.

Although many a great features compel that landlines be used in organizations and offices, the three benefits mentioned above are features that cannot be matched by cellphones.

 

 

 

 

Are We Done with Landlines, Yet?

Home Phone

We live in a modern age surrounded with a tech-savvy world and therefore, must abide by the changing trends around. But as we do change, we must spare a deeper look at the older tools to decide if they need to be really replaced or simply an addition of the new ones to the lot is just manageable. One such dilemma that concerns most households today is choosing between a cellphone and a landline. Let us compare to see if the former can, indeed, replace the latter?

Internet Speed

No matter how quick and efficient the technology has become, people tend to have different standards for Internet performance for home and elsewhere. While at a WiFi spot or on the road, people tend to be tolerant of jerky connection and low bandwidth because cell data technology is never that great. Yet, it’s a different story when people are at home as they expect their home networks to be great each time they use it.

Voice quality

The quality of a conversation is a whole lot better on a landline than on a cell phone. In fact, cellphone calling and networks are less than perfect. You can talk to a friend just fine from your cellphone, but data transmission gets interrupted constantly.

International Calling

The calling plans for landlines are usually cheaper than what you can find for a cell phone. Particularly, if you are making international calls, landlines can turn out much cheaper.

Satellite Services

If you’re using a satellite TV provider, they often end up charging you higher for the same services if you do not have a homephone. So, forgoing the landline, in a way, costs you more than what you pay otherwise.

Ease of Access

A homephone does not require charging. When it rings, you always know where it is. You do not have to turn the place upside down to track down where you put it when you dropped the groceries on the counter, or went to the bathroom.

911 Tracking

There is a huge difference in how 911 calls are handled through a landline versus the cellphone.  A landline call goes straight to the call center who immediately know where you are and soon, help is on its way within seconds. However, calling with a cell phone gets a cumbersome. As you have to waste time spelling out your complete address. If you are in a high-density area or apartment complex, they have no way to pinpoint your location with a cell phone.

All of us feel the need to take some cost-cutting initiatives to curb our expenses, chucking what’s no longer in use or helpful. However, choosing the landline for it is not a wise move yet because it has some superb irreplaceable features that we cannot afford to function without.

Missing Having a Clear Connection?

Land line telephones

It’s not unusual to come across people talking about how they no longer own a land line connection. In fact, many even wonder what it is like to have a land line telephone.  Yet, there are those who still believe in the power of this old school but trustworthy device.

Data companies in the US are consistently working to encourage customers to acknowledge the benefits of having a hard wired phone in addition to the cell phone. To convey this message and spread it across masses, the company is sending out mail pamphlets with the title “Miss having a clear connection?” The fact is that all of us have, at one point or the other, suffered through the problem of “poor signal strength” while working on cellphones. We know how it feels when an important call is dropped, mid-sentence, due to a poor cellphone signal. But home phones don’t dump you like that. They do not leave you in the lurch because they do not run on a wireless connection. The clarity is irreplaceable and connectivity is always unquestionable with landlines.

Land line telephones are an important aspect of our businesses too. In recent times, the use of the telephone for business communication may have reduced a bit due to the advent of the computer as well as the internet. Yet, from the business infrastructure standpoint specifically, landline telephones still score higher when rated on communication satisfaction than cellphones. A major reason for this is that business set ups largely depend upon landline connections so as to establish user identification and have clearer communication that does not get interrupted by low signals, and they have a lasting reliability on a device that does not need charging.

The teleconferencing feature in landline telephones is a function that has helped many businesses overcome the challenges of long distance business communication or conferences. It brings people together from all over the organization at a fraction of the cost of travel and meeting facilities. Conference calls, when used along with video conferencing, bring the essence of a personal meeting to the meeting as presentations are viewed, questions are asked via the Internet and answers are discussed among a number of people attending the call.

Calling 911 from Your Cell? Tracking You Won’t Be Easy

Calling 911 from Your Cell

The mobile phones of today with their smart features and high-end specifics can do most of the things a computer can. Yet, when we need them for their most important and basic purpose, making phone calls, especially in emergencies, the overhyped modern technology doesn’t always serve the purpose, particularly for a 911 caller.

When people facing a situation call 911, the first question they are asked is, “Where is your emergency?” Whatever the problem, this stands out as the most important question during  an emergency because the 911 folks need to know where to reach you in order to extend their help. However, cellphones don’t provide a strong vote in such times because their location can’t be tracked so precisely. Landline phones, on the other hand, offer a much more secure and stable answer to the “where” question as the device is linked to a specific address. Unfortunately, that has become a much harder question for first responders answering emergencies reported on cellphones the past 20 years primarily because the GPS on cellphones doesn’t work as well indoors as it does outside.

In this regards, the Federal Communications Commission has proposed new regulations for wireless carriers to help address the problem but, so far, wireless providers are resisting the changes. A 911 call operator shared his experience when an 8-year-old called him on a cellphone because his parents had a medical emergency. The boy couldn’t read very well, and his parents didn’t speak English. So the call taker asked him to walk outside and read out the number of the boy’s house. It took about 10 minutes. Although the number was given out by the child somehow, situations may be worse where providing the address verbally is not possible. Such scenarios could turn disastrous. In this case too, if the call had come in on a landline, identifying the house would have been instantaneous — the location would have just popped up on the 911 operator’s computer screen.

With nearly half the children in the U.S. are living in wireless-only households, situations like this are common. According to the National Emergency Number Association, around 210 million 911 calls come from cellphones every year. About half of the people calling on a cellphone from indoors don’t know where they are specifically. The statistics should wake people up to consider retaining landlines in their households. We must welcome the new technology but also recognize the benefits we might forgo when letting go of the past.

Are You Using Landline Phones in Office?

Landline Phones in Office
Recent decades have seen some impressive advances in phone technology for businesses. Landline telephones haven’t completely gone away, even though businesses have also started using cell phones, smartphones and digital voice technologies to stay in touch with customers and colleagues. While, many of them choose to utilize a combination of telephones, more and more companies still prefer to communicate using landline phones due to their higher reliability.

For companies with an office or store and with more than one employee, relying solely on the mobile phone technology can be risky. In this case, a landline phone system is the most advisable option. Many successful companies advise employees and other organizations not to switch from an office-based phone to a cellphone exclusively. Although companies continually look for options that help businesses reduce costs in all areas of operation, they can leave the cost-cutting part for other areas of lesser importance. Communication is something they should not risk for anything in return. While companies focus on cutting costs, using a mobile phone can cost more in the end because it can be frustrating to customers who can’t hear you clearly on the phone. Somehow, the entire idea does not serve the purpose of a growing business because it seems to convey to the client to the client that a company cares more about saving money than delivering good service. It may also send the message that a company perhaps does not have the money for an office with a land-based phone.

Landline phones may be the most old-fashioned, but they still have their importance intact and are still the favorite of many businesses. Landlines can offer a level of reliability and voice quality that is not always achieved by using cell phones. Some businesses may be located in areas that don’t have good cell reception or broadband access. Companies nowadays are becoming more and more aware of the valuable benefits landline phones have over cellphones and are becoming inclined to keep the familiar landline technology around.

Telephone Communication in Business

Telephone Communication in BusinessIn recent times, the use of the telephone for business communication may have reduced to an extent owing to the advent of the computer as well as the internet. From the business standpoint, specifically, landline telephones still score higher than cellphones when rated on communication satisfaction. A major reason for this is that business networks largely depend upon landline connections so as to establish user identification, have clearer communication that does not get interrupted by low signals, and have a lasting reliability on a reliable device that does not need charging.

Telephone communication may seem more primitive than its new-media counterparts, such as email, texting, and social media, yet its benefits far exceed its limitations. In context of an increasingly impersonal world, we examine how landline telephones that connects people with voice, is still an important business resource. Here are a few reasons why:

Personal and Immediate

Talking to a person over the telephone is the next best way of communicating, after talking with someone face-to-face. For long distance situations where a personal meeting is not possible, a phone call is the best way to get a quick personal response. With other forms of communication such as texting or email, you leave a message and hope for a quick response. In many cases, responses get delayed for some reason and become a source of stress if the business requirement demands a timely action.

Effective

Among the well-known three components of effective communications, body language accounts for 55%, tone of voice for 38% and spoken words for 7%. Voice tone is given its due importance because it gives dimension and emotion to words. Over the telephone, it further increases the effectiveness of the communication as body language cannot be assessed in that case. Yet, certain aspects of body language, such as smiling and walking while talking, tend to come across in a telephonic conversation.

Interactive

The teleconferencing feature in landline telephones is a feature that has crossed the barriers of the traditional two-way communication on a telephone. It brings people together from all over the organization at a fraction of the cost of travel and meeting facilities. Conference calls, when used along with video conferencing, bring the essence of a personal meeting to the communication as presentations are viewed, questions are asked, and answers are discussed among a number of people attending the call.

The above factors and many more are the benefits attached to using telephones in office. These benefits out way those of other channels of communication and help businesses grow.